Inflatable mooring buoy



Aug. 21, 1962 w. MARTIN 3,049,732

INFLATABLE MOORING BUOY Filed Nov. 29, 1960 INVENTOR WILLIBALD MARTIN BY W W ATTORNEY United States Patent ()fiice 3,049,732 Patented Aug. 21, 1962 3,049,732 TNFLATABLE M968 BUOY Wiilibald Martin, 133 Elaine Drive, Sunrise Terrace, Binghamton, NX. Filed Nov. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 72,355 4- Claims. (61. 8)

This invention relates to buoys used for the mooring of boats or other floating crafts.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a simple portable, collapsible mooring buoy which cm be readily assembled and placed into service by anyone without requiring tools for its assembly.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an inflatable, buoyant superstructure which can be harnessed to an inflated annulus, such as the inner tube of an automobile tire.

It is a particular feature of the invention that the materials needed for the construction of the buoy are relatively inexpensive, and being resilient, lessen the hazard of damage to any craft or to the buoy in case of collision.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of the invention, defined in particularity in the appended claims, and taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the inflated buoy and,

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view thereof, partially in cross-section.

Mooring buoys of various shapes and construction are well known, and use has been made also of automobile tires or inner tubes to serve as the buoyant material. These constructions, however, have certain defects. If the tube is punctured and deflated, the buoy will generally sink and thus be lost, endangering also the safety of the boat. The clamping means for supporting the mooring hook on the tube are generally of metal construction, which further adds to the weight of the buoy. Moreover, by virtue of the mechanical gripping of the tire r tube, there is a tendency to injure the rubber by the friction produced when the buoy is subjected to motion in the water.

The construction in accordance with the present invention eliminates the above deficiencies. To this end, means are provided to form the body or superstructure of the buoy of inflatable material so that should the buoyant member such as the inner tube of an automobile tire be punctured, the body of the buoy will be sufiiciently buoyant to remain afloat. In addition, the construction provides for a flexible attachment of the buoyant member by means of a rope harness, thereby eliminating all metallic connections. Only the mooring bracket is made of metal, which however, takes no part in the support of the buoy and thus places no stress on the inflatable plastic parts.

Referring to the drawing, the buoy body 3, which forms the superstructure of the buoy, is preferably of conical shape and made of inflatable plastic material, such as polyethylene or rubber. A valve 4 for inflation of the superstructure 3 may be located at any desired position for easy access thereto. The conical superstructure 3 terminates in a base 6, which may be in the form of a flange of heavier plastic material, which has a plurality of eyelets 7, spaced uniformly near the outer periphery thereof. A rope is passed through the eyelets in such a manner as to form a looped harness 10, which envelops an annular body 12 of inflatable material. The annular body is preferably an inner tube of an automobile tire, which simplifies the construction of the buoy and in its deflated condition can easily be carried, together with the collapsed superstructure 3 when the latter is deflated. This construction is also advantageous in that by the use of the harness 10, various sizes of inner tubes 12 may be accommodated.

The harness 10 is knotted on the bottom around a ring 13, which forms the anchor means of the buoy and to which may be attached a rope 14 carrying the anchor 15.

The mooring portion of the buoy consists of a ring member 16, which loosely fits around a portion of the inner tube 12 and has a bracket 17 tangential thereto and extending in a vertical direction. At the end of the bracket 17 is an eye ring 18, to which may be attached the hook of a boat painter or pulley 19, around which is placed the rope 20, whereby the boat may be pulled to the buoy.

The eye ring 18 also serves for attachment to the superstructure 3, which has a flap 22 for that purpose. A short rope 23 may be used to connect the flap 22 with the eye ring 18.

The harness 10 may be assembled with the inner tube first inflated so as to obtain the proper circumferential engagement, and thereafter, the inner tube may be deflated. Both the superstructure and the tube, when deflated, are reduced to a small size, which can easily be carried. It may be put into service by simply inflating both the conical body portion 3 and the annular floating ring 12.

What is claimed is:

1. A mooring buoy comprising a hermetically sealed superstructure capable of being inflated, a base attached to said structure, said base having a plurality of spaced eyelets, an annular body of inflatable material, a harness formed of a rope passing through said eyelets, said harness being so constructed as to circumferentially envelop said annular body, anchoring means attached to said harness, a ring member adapted to enclose a portion of said annular body, a bracket tangential to said ring member, and a flap on said superstructure having an eyelet accommodating a rope for attachment to said bracket and ring means on said bracket accommodating a hook for attachment to a boat painter.

2. A mooring buoy in accordance with claim 1, Wherein said superstructure is of conical shape and said base is a flange extending from the body thereof.

3. A mooring buoy, in accordance with claim 1, wherein said annular body of inflatable material is an inner tube of an automobile tire.

4. An attachment for an inflated automobile inner tube to serve as a mooring buoy, comprising an inflatable plastic body of conical shape, having a base in the form of a laterally extending flange substantially equal in diameter to said inner tube, said flange having a plurality of equally spaced eyelets, a rope harness circumferentially enveloping said inner tube and passing through said eyelets, anchoring means attached to said harness and a mooring bracket adapted to be clamped around said tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 757,183 France Oct. 9, 1933 

